exploring choices
Newark
Heather Rushton: Director of Exploring Choices Ltd. Heather has been a teacher,
adviser, senior officer with national and international experience. She has
extensive experience of working in Children’s Services within the public sector,
particularly in Education but also in, partnership working and integrated
services. Heather has held very senior positions in schools, local authorities
and nationally. Starting working life as a teacher, Heather became a head
teacher, adviser, senior adviser and Director for School Improvement. Heather
has worked with and for children in areas of high social deprivation, she has a
sincere desire to give children the very best start in life. She has worked in
large Local Authorities, metropolitan areas and across regions as a Children’s
Services Adviser. Her experience includes improving departmental performance,
Health, Children’s Social care, Youth and Education. Heather is curious about
what is happening in children’s lives and exploring why it has happened. Her
skills to evaluate lead to pertinent identification of changes that need to be
made to help them easily benefit from education, care or health programmes.
Heather has significant experience with SEN, Literacy and Early Years, Prior to
becoming an independent consultant Heather lead the national improvement
programme with the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes working with 152 Local
Authorities, and 64 voluntary agencies, SCIE, RIP, NfER and RIP. As an
independent consultant. Heather inspires confidence in individuals, supports
staff to see new ways of working and improve outcomes. Picture David Connor has
extensive experience of working in Children’s Services within the public sector,
particularly in Education but also in commissioning, partnership working and
integrated services. David's experience includes over twenty years in teaching
including Headships in three schools, university lecturing with a specialism in
Early Years education and work in Eastern Europe developing systems and
structures for the delivery of effective education. Following his work in
schools, David joined a Local Authority advisory service, initially as an
adviser for primary education and then as a senior adviser with responsibility
for a team of forty advisers and consultants before eventually becoming Chief
Adviser for a large Local Authority with over 430 schools. After a spell as
Deputy Director of Education, he was promoted to the post of Strategic Deputy
Director of Children’s Services with responsibility for departmental planning,
evaluation and quality assurance (Education and Social Care), information and
data, external partnerships, commissioning – public, private and voluntary
sectors, oversight of schools and workforce development. Since 2010, David has
worked as an Independent Consultant undertaking commissions for the Centre for
Excellence, National Children’s Bureau, National College and Children’s
Improvement Board. This has included evaluations of Local Authority structures
and services and assessment against the Test of Assurance, support to Local
Authorities to develop new systems and structures for Children’s services and
school improvement systems, a scoping study for the development of a Knowledge
Transfer Centre in Northern Ireland and the provision of support to aspiring
leaders in Children’s Services.
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